Bill to end federal funding of sports stadiums may make progress in wake of NFL protests

(National Sentinel) Sports Legislation: As protests against the National Anthem by millionaire NFL players rose dramatically this weekend amid criticism from President Donald J. Trump, there is a resultant rise in legislative efforts to end federal subsidies for new sports stadiums.

As reported by The Daily Caller, legislation was introduced over the summer to prevent federal taxpayer funding from going towards the construction of professional sports arenas.

Now that protests are ramping up and the game has become politicized, it’s likely the legislative effort may gather steam. There’s little doubt that Trump would sign it.

“Professional sports teams generate billions of dollars in revenue,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said in a statement. “There’s no reason why we should give these multimillion-dollar businesses a federal tax break to build new stadiums. It’s not fair to finance these expensive projects on the backs of taxpayers, especially when wealthy teams end up reaping most of the benefits.”

Booker has co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Jim Lankford, R-Okla., that would ban professional sports teams from using municipal bonds in relation to federal funding to build their sports arenas, The DC reported.

Lankford agrees with his Senate colleague. “The federal government is responsible for a lot of important functions, but financing sports stadiums for multi-million – sometimes billion – dollar franchises is definitely not one of them,” he said.

As protests have risen, there is a renewed interest in their bill.

The senators said that, over the past 17 years, there have been 36 professional sports stadiums built or renovated with the assistance of federal tax-exempted municipal bonds. The cost to taxpayers has been around $3.2 billion, according to a Brookings Institute report published last year.

What’s more, “despite claims from local officials and team owners that the construction of these stadiums would create jobs and economic growth, research from the Journal of Economic Perspectives showed ‘there is no statistically significant positive correlation between sports facility construction and economic development,’ specifically aimed at income growth or job creation,” The DC noted.

4 Comments on Bill to end federal funding of sports stadiums may make progress in wake of NFL protests

Don’t these assclowns have ANY idea how good they have it in America ? ANY IDEA ?
What misinformed brains they have, and they cannot see through their own hypnosis. Thank god we Whites CAN !! The hypnotizers must go !! DEPORT !!

All these funds should be taken away from the sports/entertainment world and be immediately diverted to aiding stricken US areas like Puerto Rico, Texas, Montana, etc. People are hurting throughout our great nation from natural and man-made disasters. The previously wasted 3.2 billion taxpayer dollars would have been a great start in aiding those in danger right now. Time to turn off the TV, folks, and help your neighbors who are suffering. Please support the responsible management of our taxpayers’ money!